Father's day >> Vacation >> Anniversary

Bonnie, Sophie and lil Neil all went up to the island on Thursday, June 12 for an extended Father's Day weekend. Anna and me joined them on Friday the 13th! The rest of the family (Jill, Bob, Judy, Amie, Scott, Owen and Jackson) came up Saturday to celebrate Father's Day early (actual holiday was on Sunday). We really had a nice time and it was awesome to be able to spend time at the new cottage as an extended family.

Of course, Anna and Sophie talked me into going downtown for ice cream as soon as possible. Here is a photo of them at their favorite ice cream joint - Papa T's.

My baby girls

 

Bonnie packed up the kid crew and headed home late on Sunday. I took the week off for vacation with plans to stay alone on the island and work on the cottage. Bonnie (by herself) came back up on Thursday, for an extended anniversary weekend.

 

Happy 16th year anniversary to my girl!

 

We had a wonderful time doing the island old-school: chillin' down by the lake shore, boat watching and much fine dining.

Bonnie and me - happy anniversary!

We spent some time hanging out with John, Amy and Ethan Pyke who came up to Kelleys on their boat for the weekend.

The cottage progress continues...

One huge outstanding site issue was the catch-basin that is located directly next to the electrical transformer at the street. You can see from the first photo below, this is a friggin' mess and not properly installed by any stretch. This "hole" is where all the rain water, gutter run off and sump-pump termination flows to before eventually draining under the street, along George's property line and then to the quarry.

This is a huge pile-of-crap that needed to be cleaned out periodically because dirt was washed into the hole whenever it rained. When we bought the property (in 2010), the seller promised that this would be fixed and now 4 years later it was still a problem...

Before and during the block work to seal in the catch basin

Fortunately, Chris was having his new foundation built by the same crew who laid our block foundation back in 2012. As part of their job, Chris had these guys seal in the catch-basin with fresh block. Nice.

Catch basin block-work finished

Another nice addition was the installation of the microwave. Every new appliance makes the cottage more-and-more livable. Check-it out in the working kitchen photo below.

Microwave installed

BIG HASSLE ALERT:

One big job that took much much longer than anticipated was the finishing of the skylights. No joke, this probably took me 15-20 hrs over three days. The skylight cavities were drywalled and mudded. They needed to be 1) sanded, 2) re-mudded, 3) re-sanded, 4) tapped, 5) primed, 6) painted, 7) trimmed, 8) trim painted and then 9) final trimmed. The real trick was trying to work inside a 13 inch cavity with the sun shining in your eyes in 100+ deg heat. There was no easy way to get inside these narrow cavities while standing on a 15 ft ladder. Plus it was a pain-in-the-azz slapping paint inside them without painting yourself in the process.

My plan is to not touch these again for a long while, hopefully never. The photo below does not do this effort justice. However, I am extremely pleased with the finished product. You really need to see the trimmed-out skylights live to appreciate.

Skylights primed, painted and trimmed

I  also finished priming and painting the main bathroom. Again, this photo does not make the small room look all that great. The wall color is a sweet medium gray. Uber cool.

Main bathroom - painting complete

 

The entire cottage still needs painting other than the aforementioned main bathroom. I did start the kitchen/main room 1st coat. The color choice is awesome. Cool, light gray. Funny - because you can't really tell what the actual color will look like until you get it on the wall. And of course, it was a non-returnable custom color that was humped to the island all the way from Home Depot.

 Kitchen/mainroom paint started

Yes I did, I have spent 10 consecutive days on the island. I was seriously expecting to get more done between June 13th and 22nd, but I was happy with the results.

Projects completed:

• All remaining closet organizers installed - done
• Chalkboard wall framed - done
• Main bath painted - done
• Microwave installed - done
• Skylights - done (huge job)

Next steps:

• Finish drywall remediation
• Paint, paint, paint



Sophie weekend

Sophie came along with me for the weekend since Bonnie and Anna had to go to Michigan for Anna's school field trip on Friday. Sophie hung out with Christina from next door the entire weekend. I let her eat (or not eat) whatever she wanted for three days, for real. Little Sophie is a trooper and was fun to hang out with...

To kick-off my island trips, I literally bring a "truckload" of stuff and this weekend was no different. Earlier Friday, I stopped by Sears to pick-up the new Electric range and refrigerator. We backed the truck up to the front door so we could slide the appliances from the tailgate into the cottage. Good work.

Back it up to the door

 

Every weekend, I try to make as much progress as physically possible. But having a full size working fridge is a real nice milestone.

 

New refrigerator - friggin' sweet



Friday night I started on the attic access doors. I already had the doors built but I needed to hang some hinges on them and make them work in the attic doorway space. Hinges are quirky and a little unforgiving. You have to screw them in perfectly level or the doors won't swing open or close as expected. Plus once you start drilling the hinge holes, you can't undrill or move them. Anyway, I got the hinges mounted to swing to the inside, very minimal and functional. The next morning, I cut the trim and installed a simple barrel bolt from the inside to keep the left door in place.

Attic access door work-in-progress and finished product

Saturday, after finishing up the attic access doors, I started on the cottage sign installation. Bob had made the sign for us a few seasons ago, but I wanted to wait until I had the lot in good enough shape to finally make it permanent. As usual, this took longer than expected

First, I didn't have long enough 4x4 posts. Luckily, Chris has an extra post that he had to track down that someone actually borrowed and didn't use - weird. Next, I had to dig the holes and set the posts in quickcrete. As you may recall, my least favorite thing is digging holes especially in rock hard soil that is 50% stone filled (Sheesh). Tricky part was to determine the natural height and position of the posts to be in harmony with the size of the sign and the cottage. Last, I cut the top piece and mounted the sign. The whole project took 1/2 the day but the results look awesome!

"Our House" cottage sign and Sophie

 

On Sunday, I finished painting the chalkboard wall and then primed - the bar nook, utility room, remaining kitchen and other missing touch-up throughout. 

 

Next steps...

• Trim-out the chalkboard wall
• Install the closet organizers for both Sophie and Neil's room
• Start the drywall remediation that has been exposed by the priming
• Paint the main bathroom

Memorial Day

Big fun family weekend! We have been waiting a long time to use the new cottage with the whole gang and the good news is that it worked out fine. The weather was absolutely beautiful everyday. Despite having no doors, limited lighting, no floors and the entire cottage covered in drywall dust, we had a great time.

The lil' patriot

On Memorial Day, Monday - May 26th, we attended the service at the cemetery with about 300-400 other islanders. All of the veterans were dressed in full uniform along with several active duty military, coast guard, police, etc. The service was very moving and made you think about the sacrifice of these great men and women that makes our country what it is today.

After the memorial service chilling at the VFW

Before the Memorial day festivities...

I had Friday off from work so I made it up on Thursday night (After my mandatory trip to Menard's to pick up more stuff). I lugged our old grill from home and set-up a nice little base camp.

 Backyard base camp

 

While I was cleaning up all of the construction materials/mess in preparation for the family's arrival on Friday, I found a bunch of ceiling scrap wood that was already clear coat stained. So, late night on Thursday, I framed out the attic access doors. I need to decide how to hinge and trim these. Anyway, this is a good start...  

Attic door access work-in-progress

Friday morning, I primed all of the closets, Neil's room and the rest of the main room. Bon and the kids were coming up Friday, early evening, so I got a chance to knock-out as much priming as possible in about 8 hours. I also installed 2 closet organizers in the Anna's room and the master bedroom.

Saturday, Captain Ron stopped over with his Skid steer to spread the gravel around the driveway. It looks great and you can really see the driveway now. I still need another dump truck load of gravel to finish it off, but it looks awesome for now.

Driveway gravel spread by Captain Ron

 

Later on Saturday, I taped off and started the chalkboard wall. Surprisingly, one pint of paint would only allow for one coat, so I'll have to wait until next weekend to finish. This does look pretty cool and will be a fun casual addition to the cottage.



  Chalkboard wall work-in-progress

My mom Jill (Nama) joined us to spend some island time with family on Sunday. We had a nice day that started with a long lakeside lunch at the Brewery, hung out with the crazy "hood" neighbors and then took a walk down the State Park pier.

Anna and Nama on the pier

Bonnie - former "Hula-hoop champion"

Now that the driveway is finally taking shape, I wanted to cover the exposed swale drain that goes under the driveway. The reason was to gain about 4 more feet of usable yard space and just make the drain opening look nicer and more functional. This photo does really do this justice, but it covered up the ugly exposed bright green pipe and should allow for better drainage. It's the little things...

 

Driveway swale drain

Other boring maintenance included cleaning out the front gutter because heavy rain would just pour over the side. Should work as expected now and help dry out better around the cottage.

Next steps:

• Install the cottage "Our House" sign
• Finish chalkboard wall
• Finish up the attic access doors
• Keep priming

Family time

Bonnie and 'lil Neil made the trip up on Thursday night to get all settled in. I brought the girls up later on Friday when they got home from school. Anna brought her friend Gabby along for the weekend. After stopping at Burger King, Menards and gas station we made it on the 6:30 pm ferry.

The girls on the ferry

This was the first trip up this year for the kids (and Bonnie) so they were super excited. The weather Fri/Sat was chilly and rainy but we made the best of it. Sunday was beautiful and sunny.

Neil playing with rocks on the beach

Saturday morning, while Bonnie took all the kids on the extended island activity tour, I got cracking on the kitchen sink install. Since the countertop was 1 1/2 inch butcher block, the standard sink mounting clips were too short. So, early last week, I special ordered the "long clips". When I go to pick them up at Menards, they give me more of the standard short clips. Something got goofed with the special order and now I'm stuck. Anyway, I now had two sets of short sink clips and I was determined to make it work.

After playing around with these crappy clips, I was able to get the sink secured in place. Next was too hook-up the plumbing, which was particularly tricky because I had to install an Air Admittance Valve that acts as a vent for drains that do not have access to a standard wall vent. Then I hooked up the p-trap to the sink drain and installed the Moen fixture - this was a breeze. After crimping on the PEX connectors and hooking-up the supply lines, I tightened all plumbing connections. Time for a test run... Amazing, no leaks.

A working kitchen sink is a huge milestone. In my opinion, this is second in importance only behind having a working toilet.

Kitchen sink, done!

With all of the work done over the last 4 weeks, I really wanted to show Bonnie her new kitchen. Needless to say, she's a "happy girl".

Bonnie in her new kitchen

Here is the latest photo of the bar nook with the countertop, trim and cabinet hardware installed. This is cool little area for bar supplies, etc.

Bar nook - work in progress

Earlier in the week, Chris and Tim (big thanks!) hauled a load of gravel for us. We probably will still need 1-2 more loads, but the driveway should be done then.

Gravel for the driveway

Had a very nice weekend with the family and still got a lot of work done.

Next steps...

• Prime, prime and prime
• Start painting the great room?
• Install closet organizers and shelves for master closet and Anna's closet

Kitchen cabinets - part 3

I made my weekly trip to Menards on Friday to pick up the remaining cabinets, cabinet trim panels and sink drain. I met Brad at the ferry dock and we made the 4:30 pm boat. The plan was to install the: trim panels, cabinets, cabinet hardware, sink, sink drain, and sink plumbing. I also brought up three bar stools for assembly and use with the new bar.

Friday night, we custom cut and fit the white trim panels to the unfinished cabinet backs. The finished look is great but I still need to add wood trim to hide all the small nail holes used to hang the panels. Next, I really wanted to install the kitchen sink, but the mounting clips included were not long enough because of the thickness of the butcher block counter top. So, I will need to order longer clips and wait until next weekend. Moving on, we hung the "over appliance" cabinets.

Saturday morning, we hung the remaining upper cabinets and I started on the cabinet hardware. I chose stainless steel bar pulls (three inch center to center mount). These are polished to look like brushed nickel but have the utility of stainless steel. The color and style match the bar mounts perfectly. Very clean, simple, modern lines. Nice.

Finally, I added the first coat of butcher block oil/conditioner to the counter tops. This makes them look wet and gave them a much needed protective finish. I'm thinking they will need 2-3 more coats.

Kitchen progress - looking good!

 

"Big Bad Brad" made some good progress and primed two rooms between cigarette breaks. Although it rained most of the day on Friday, Captain Ron was able to do some site work later on Saturday afternoon by spreading out some of the remaining dirt piles and leveling some high and low spots. Here are a few photos of the progress... 

Front yard graded

Side yard graded

Sunday was Mother's Day, so Brad and me packed up early and hit the 10:00 am ferry to head home.

Bonnie and the kids are coming up next weekend. I can't wait to show them the progress. Very happy with the kitchen so far and looking forward to spending some time on the island with the family.

Next steps:

• Install kitchen sink (and related plumbing)
• Install custom lower wine rack (and build custom shelf) for the bar cabinet/nook
• Long story short, I already put in these cabinets and do not like the results. Yes, this is unnecessary re-work (my bad)
• Prime the remaining rooms
• Have some fun

Kitchen cabinets - part 2

Big weekend for the island. Starting very early Friday morning, I had to stop at Menard's on the way from home to pick up the counter tops and still make it to the ferry by 8:00 AM to meet the Bayside contractor to fix the tankless water heater at Cedar Cottage.

I was excited to see the drywall finish work completed at our cottage. Thanks Mike. However, the entire place was covered in dust from all the sanding, so I spend the next few HOURS cleaning up pounds of drywall dust. Unfortunately, the cottage will be very dusty for a while until I can get some primer on the ceilings and walls.

Just having all of the seams mudded and sanded is so nice, but really the ceilings look the best. It is tricky to see from the photo below, but the ceiling texture in the bedrooms/bathrooms look(s) great.

Ceiling texture

 

Before closing up the cottage last year for the season, I took some measurements for two built-in wall shelves, one in the bar hallway and one in the master bathroom. Here is a sneak peek of the of the built-in bar wall shelf, custom built by my father-in-law Bob Trapp. Looks awesome, huge thanks!

 

Custom built-in wall shelf

 

Uncle Al was able to catch the 7:00 PM ferry on Friday night to join in the fun. We hit the town that night and planned to start bright and early Saturday morning installing the kitchen cabinets.

 

Uncle working on the cabinets

Here is a before and after photo for you to put the kitchen into context...

 

Kitchen before

 

Although the photo below looks promising and I am happy with the overall look and size of the kitchen cabinets, I made some stupid planning mistakes.

Kitchen after

Long story short, I need to custom order some new upper cabinets sizes and take down some that are already installed. This sucks. And too add "fuel to the fire", the largest 60 inch sink base (correct size) was completely split down the side. I didn't notice the damage until I unpacked the box. I should have checked at the store, but needed the cabinets boxed for hauling up to the island. Yep, I had to lug it back off the rock!

Good news is that we were able to salvage the two "over-an-appliance" cabinets by installing them in the laundry room instead.

Utility room cabinets

 

As always when I am working up on the island all weekend, I miss some family time. My baby girl lost her first front tooth and I wish I was there to see it happen. Love you Sophie!

My baby girl Sophie

 

Next steps...

• Install the 60 inch sink base
• Install butcher-block counter tops (and backsplash)
• Relax for a minute 

KI Neighbor Party in Geneva

This year we moved the KI neighbor party from Sawmill Creek in Sandusky out east to Geneva wine country. Every year we get excited to open up the cottage for the season when we meet up with the wild neighbor crew.

Bonnie and me headed east to spend the day touring different wineries in the Geneva-on-the-Lake region.

Girls at the Debonne Winery

Good times as usual, can't wait until the ferry starts running to get the cottage project moving along. Big plans this year! Hopefully, I can finish the interior by end of season. Check back in November, right?